The domain name system (DNS) and domain name registration system have become an integral part of how consumers and businesses conduct activity on the Internet.
One advantage of DNS is that it allows a person to visit a website by typing into a browser a “domain name”, that is, a familiar word or group of words, rather than the numeric IP address of the computer on which the website resides. For example, a person desiring to visit the VeriSign website could do so by entering in their web browser the domain name “verisign.com” instead of an IP address, such as “10.10.1.100.” Although, the user could enter either the domain name or the IP address, the moniker “verisign.com” is easier to remember than a string of digits. A domain name is an example of a “provisioned object,” that is, an object that is assigned or released through an interface.
The DNS system also allows multiple websites to share one IP address when multiple domain names all resolve to (that is, are associated with) the same IP address. A webserver that has been assigned a specific IP address receives, as part of the request for web content, the domain name requested and can then deliver the desired content to the requesting computer. This multiple-website feature is important because there are a finite number of IP addresses of the form 10.10.1.100, so called “IPv4 addresses.” Without this ability for multiple websites to share an IP address, the possible IPv4 address space would likely have already been exhausted.
Furthermore, the next version of IP address space, so called “IPv6,” includes an even more complicated numeric format. Whereas IPv4 is only 32 bits in binary length, IPv6 is 128 bits. A typical hexadecimal representation of an IPv6 address is 2001:0db8:85a3:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334. Because of the increased length of IP address in this format, there are approximately 5×1028 theoretical addresses available for each one of the 6.8 billion people alive. Although IP address exhaustion will no longer be a concern under the new addressing scheme, the DNS system remains important so that people can use familiar domain names rather than long strings of hexadecimal digits to visit websites or access machines on the Internet.
Domain name registration is the process by which a registrant can reserve or lease the use of a domain name for a specified period of time from the date of registration. The domain name registration system consists of various top level domains (TLDs), such as the traditional .com, .net, .org, .edu, and .gov, as well as the newer .biz, .info, and .name. The domain name registration system has also evolved to incorporate various country code TLDs (ccTLDs), each one reserved for use by a particular country, such as, .ca, .cn, .tv, and .us, associated with Canada, China, Tuvalu, and the United States, respectively. The domain name system and domain name registration system have also evolved to allow the use of alternative character sets to accommodate foreign languages.
A domain name is reserved by a domain name “registrant.” The registrant may reserve the domain name for at least one year but may reserve the domain name for up to ten years. Domain names are reserved through domain “registrars.” Registrars are entities having business relationships with domain “registries” that control the domain names for a particular TLD. Thus, the registrar provides the interface to the registrant to reserve the domain name from a registry. The registry manages the reserved names and available names for a particular TLD and makes available the information to the registrar through the Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP). Registrars that are authorized by the registry have the ability to make reservations and check the state of domain names through the EPP. The registry provides the EPP as a communications gateway to registrars for such purposes.
In a typical domain name registration example, a registrant may want to reserve the domain name “example.com.” The registrant would contact a registrar that has a business relationship with the registry that operates the .com TLD. The registrant would query the registrar as to the availability of the domain name “example” in the .com namespace. The registrar in turn would query the proper registry through the EPP, then return the results to the registrant. The registrant may then obtain a registration of the domain name by paying a registration fee and providing information required by the registry and registrar. The registry charges the registrar for the domain name registration and the registrar collects the registration fee from the registrant.
To maintain a domain name in accordance with current regulations, the registry responsible for a TLD is required to keep a certain minimum amount of information with the domain name to ensure proper identification, security features, and operability associated with the domain name. For example, all domain registrants are required to make available to the registry, current administrative contact information. Also, in order for a domain name to work correctly, the registry must have nameserver information for the domain to load into its TLD DNS system to refer outside DNS requests to the proper authoritative DNS servers. Also, to prevent accidental changes to the domain name settings, certain status codes are available to put various levels of protection on the domain name.
One problem with the way these standards-based status values are implemented in the domain name management system is that they do not allow multiple additions of the same status value for different underlying reasons. For example, a registry adding the necessary status values to prevent any changes to a domain name record because of a court order ordering them to prevent changes, cannot later add the necessary status value to prevent transfer of the domain name record while easily maintain the status values so far as they overlap. The status value to prevent transfer is among the status values necessary to prevent any changes in accordance with the court order. Moreover, if the registry later desires to remove the status value corresponding to the transfer-prevention status value because the underlying reason for adding the status value was resolved, the registry might not realize that the court order to prevent changes is still active and that the transfer-prevention status value should be maintained for that reason. Indeed, the registry might by accident violate the terms of the court order by removing the transfer-prevention status value. Therefore, a method is needed to help registries manage status values.
Another problem with the way these standards-based status values are implemented in the domain name management system is that they do not provide granularity for the registry or entity that sets them. For example, a registry may desire to add the same status value for multiple underlying reasons. Because the available standards-based status values cannot be changed, it is difficult for the registry to maintain the multiple underlying reasons for each time the status value was endeavored to be added. Therefore, a method is needed to allow a registry or other status setting entity to mange status values so that, from the registry's perspective, the status value can be added as often as needed in accordance with the underlying reasons.